Village Trustee Sara Lee, an involved and tenacious Glen Ellyn resident with an extensive resume of public work in the village, died Monday, May 26. She was 50.

The cause of her death was cancer, which was diagnosed in early March, said Village President Vicky Hase.

The speed with which Lee succumbed to her illness shocked her colleagues in the village, who remembered her for the vibrancy she brought to her work.

“Whatever she got involved in, she was very passionate. She gave it all of her attention,” said Dan Gardner, a village trustee who served from 2003 to 2007. “She never went into anything with less than 110 percent of her effort.”

In 2005 Lee was elected to a four-year term on the Glen Ellyn Village Board, where she was an assertive leader.

“What I remember is her exuberance for the village of Glen Ellyn, her passion for the village,” Hase said. “She would fight tirelessly for a cause that she would believe in.”

Lee’s tenure on the board followed years of service with village groups and schools.

Before her election she served on the committee that helped craft Glen Ellyn’s comprehensive plan, and she sat on the nominating committee of the Civic Betterment Party, which taps residents to run for village office.

Among her volunteer work in the schools, she was a member of the strategic plan committee for Glenbard Township High School District 87, which named her Volunteer of the Year.

“(It) might well be the most well rounded list of that nature that I’ve seen,” said acting Village Manager Curt Barrett.

With 11 months remaining in Lee’s term, it’s not clear whether the village will hold a special election to fill her seat. Hase said officials are working with legal counsel to determine how to proceed.

Lee was a graduate of LaPorte High School in LaPorte, Ind., and was a 1979 graduate of Purdue University.

She is survived by her husband, Peter, and children Jennifer, Peter and Jonathan.
A memorial visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 29 at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting donations to the American Cancer Society, CNS Hospice of DuPage or local charities.